Getty Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley handles the ball during a game against the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago Bulls fans banking on their team tipping off the 2022-23 campaign with a clean bill of health were seemingly dealt a stiff blow over the weekend. Per a report by ESPN‘s Jamal Collier and Ramona Shelburne on Friday, starting point-man Lonzo Ball “is expected to miss training camp and is doubtful for the start of the regular season.”
Ball underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear back in January and, according to the new report, has experienced “lingering pain and discomfort” in his left knee.
As a result, the Bulls have question marks surrounding the point guard spot heading into camp. And while some would say that the team can make due with Goran Dragic and second-year phenom Ayo Dosunmu while Ball is out, others believe that some kind of move is in order.
Unfortunately, pulling off any kind of trade could be tough sledding, even as a former All-Star floor general who was previously linked to Chicago looks to be on the block.
Conley Not an Option?
With Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell having already been shipped out of Utah, the conventional wisdom is that the Jazz’s other vets — including Mike Conley — aren’t long for the club, either. As it happens, Conley is someone who the Bulls coveted before Ball became Billy Donovan’s floor general.
The 2021 NBA All-Star still has plenty to offer, too, having averaged 14 points, five assists and three rebounds per contest last season while shooting 40.8% from distance.
BasketballNews.com‘s Nekias Duncan indicated that he wouldn’t be shocked to see the Bulls make a play for another bona fide quarterback, writing, “I can definitely see the use for a table-setter in Chicago,” in reference to Conley. Alas, Duncan astutely observed that the Jazz vet’s monster deal likely takes him out of the running as an option.
“The Bulls may be content with Goran Dragic filling that void; beyond that, I’m not sure they could make the money work without getting ride of a core piece,” Duncan added.
Given Conley’s age and the fact that he’d essentially be coming in as a band-aid until Ball is ready to go, dealing a core piece just to match his money is a dog that doesn’t hunt.
Waiting It Out May Be the Right Play
As sweet as it would be to see the former Memphis Mike doing his thing in Bulls red, standing pat may be the proper course of action, finances notwithstanding. After all, the Bulls have some depth in the backcourt now.
When Dosunmu was forced into the starting five when injuries hit last season, he responded by averaging 11.0 points, a team-best 5.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals across his final 41 appearances. There’s also this little nugget from Duncan’s Conley deep-dive:
Per Second Spectrum, among 165 players that defended at least 300 drives last season, only one player — Chicago Bulls rookie Ayo Dosunmu (13.97%) — was “blown by” at a lower rate than Conley (14.18%).
We can’t sleep on Dragic, either. After spending the brunt of his Toronto Raptors time as an outcast, the 36-year-old showed that he’s still capable of contributing important minutes by averaging 10.5 points and shooting 56.3% from the floor off the bench for the Brooklyn Nets during the playoffs.
READ NEXT: